Bran asked carefully, and Atil nodded. Lilyca clenched the key with both hands.
âIâll use it, but the owner is Your Highness.â
âBut you will be using it.â
âYes, I will. However, letâs be co-owners.â
After all, when His Highness comes of age, he will become His Majesty the Emperor, and she will have to leave. She had no intention of taking it all by herself, nor was she confident.
âWhatever.â
Atil replied and ruffled her head. Lilyca burst out laughing.
It was very nice to have someone touch her without hurting her.
Lilyca decided while holding the key.
âI have to make the garden beautiful for when Iâll return it to His Highness.â
As Atil suddenly remembered, he asked what he had been concerned about for a while.
âBy the way, how long are you going to call me Your Highness?â
âExcuse me?â
âYou donât have to call me Your Highness anymore.â
At that question, Lilyca somehow felt a sense of disorientation. She thought she heard the same question somewhere.
Lilyca answered, tilting her head.
âThen, Prince AtilâŚ?â
âYou said we were brother and sister.â
In the end, Atil said, âMust I explain to you more?â Lilyca smiled as she grabbed his hand at the words he uttered with that embarrassed expression.
âAtil.â
Atil smiled faintly and took Lilycaâs hand. Lilyca led his hand to the kitchen excitedly.
The people in the kitchen were so frightened by the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince that their faces hardened. When Bryn served the raspberries, the cook politely asked,
âIâll cook it for you. Should I send it to the White Dragon Room and the Black Dragon Room respectively?â
Lilyca said after one glance at Atil.
âSend it to the White Dragon Room. And send the best to His Majesty and Empress.â
âI see. Please, rest assured that it will be done diligently.â
Lilyca said to Atil, âLetâs go eat,â and not long after taking him into the White Dragon Room, crystal balls full of raspberry cream came in.
It was a cold dessert made by mixing sweet and fresh whipped cream with raspberries and sugar.
After eating cream and raspberries until she was full, Lilyca became happy.
After putting the last raspberry in her mouth with a silver spoon and enjoying the whirlpool of sweet and sour taste, she finished the tea with satisfaction.
Pai laughed.
âPrincess, you eat so sweetly.â
Lilyca asked cautiously.
âIs something wrong? Do you think I ate without following etiquette?â
Pai shook his head at the question.
âNo, I just want you to look happy.â
âIsnât it fun to eat something delicious?â
âYes, it is.â
However, no one had such a blatant feeling of happiness on their face as Lilyca.
Somehow, Pie admired her expression because it made him happy just by looking at it. He lightly pressed his lips.
âOh my.â
He had made a slip of tongue.
âI like that you look happy. What was this?â
It might have sounded like an insult if he had told other nobles. But Pie relaxed.
Lilyca didnât twist words. She accepted them as they are without thinking twice or thrice.
If she said she was happy, heâll believe her, and if she said she was sad, heâll believe her as well.
He wouldnât even look for something hidden behind her words.
âI donât have to think about how to interpret her words, whom to report to, and whether to find weaknesses in them.â
Pai thought about it and apologised,
âSorry, Princess, I made a mistake.â
Lilyca shook her head.
âNo, I shouldnât have asked you if I wasnât following etiquette.â
It was probably a question that a real princess wouldnât have asked.
âNo. I made a mistake with that statement. Without realising it, my tongue became loose.â
Lilyca stared at Pai and held out her empty glass bowl.
âGive me one, and I will forgive you.â
Pai chuckled.
âIâll give you two.â
Atil, who was watching them, scooped raspberries from his cup and put them in Lilycaâs.
âWhatâs up Atil?â
Lilyca asked and he answered,
âItâs for every time there is something to apologise for in the future. I donât want to apologise for every single one of them.â
âPrincess, please take good care of His Highness.â
Bran poured his share into Lilycaâs cup.
âWho are you to ask that?â
Atil said in an annoyed voice, and Bran just laughed, âhahaâ.
Raspberries piled up again in Lilycaâs cup in an instant. Lilyca opened her mouth and looked at Bryn.
âIâll give half to Bryn. I think Bryn will be a lot of help moving forward.â
Bryn, whose cup was empty, smiled and held it out, and Lilyca gave her half.
Pai was pleased.
Although Atil grumbled, he looked comfortable around Lilyca. Pai didnât know how long it had been since he had seen him like this.
Above all, he never thought he would go back to the garden. The princess did not know how precious that garden key was to Atil, but Pai did.
Lilyca will take great care of the garden and cherish it.
âThatâs fascinating.â
It was the first time for him to feel so comfortable.
âIs this what adults in a family called to be relaxed? Itâs said you should marry someone you are comfortable with.â
Comfort, which was rare for snakes, was awkward and interesting at the same time. But Pai was also anxious that the existence of such feelings would cause mistakes.
However, Lilycaâs existence as a person serving His Majesty was welcome.
âAs long as the princess doesnât betray him.â
She was still young, but no one could know how she will turn out when she grows up.
Pai had seen several children who were healthy and cute when they were young, but as they grow up, they became like poison.
When someone heard this story, they said, âYoung people say all sorts of things.â Pai, though, was thirteen. When you became a teenager in Sandar, you had the same right to speak as an adult.
To survive in the snakeâs lair, you must have that level of intelligence at that age.
âI better be careful.â
It is better to be careful about beings that can loosen the boundaries of the mind.
Pai thought so and put the remaining raspberries in his mouth.
* * *
It was three days later that Lyrica met her mother. She had heard that the meeting was over, but she thought her mother would be tired, so Lilyca decided to visit her later.
Lydia was dressed in a gown and her hair was roughly tied together. With a very tired face, she kissed her daughter and said,
âDid nothing happen during that time?â
âYeah, nothing happened.â
âThatâs good my dear, ugh.â
While trying to hug Lilyca, Lydia patted her back and let out a moan.
âAre you okay?â
When Lilyca asked in surprise, Lydia nodded her head.
âIâm okay. Iâm just tired. Mommy looks ugly, right?â
Lydia covered her cheeks and smiled. Lilyca shook her head.
âNo, Mother is still beautiful!â
Lydia laughed at Lilycaâs words, âWhoa.â Seeing that smile, Lilyca thought, âMother is really pretty.â And she admired her again.
Although she looked tired, her skin was strangely shiny and her eyes were reddish, so she was very pretty. Lilyca frowned while staring intently at her mother.
âMother, I think you have been bitten by an insect. Are you okay?â
âYes?â
âHere-â
When Lylica said that while tapping the nape of her neck, Lydia hurriedly pulled back her gown.
âThe red colour has spread quite a bit. Arenât you itchy?â
âUh-huh, Mommy is okay. Sheâs really okay.â
Lilyca nodded her head as Lydia waved her hand frenetically. She must be ashamed of being bitten by an insect. She shouldnât though.
Coughing, Lydia said as she touched the collar of her gown.
âIn the meantime, I got a reply from Bharat. He said heâd come to teach. Will you be all right?â
âReally?â
âYes. Didnât you want Fjord Bharat to come?â
âWow-!â
With pure joy, Lilyca clasped her hands. Lydia chuckled.
âDo you like it that much?â
âYes!â
âAndâŚâ
Her mother yawned slightly and continued.
âWhen Atil hired a new escort, he decided to hire yours as well. Go to the Guard Knights and choose the one you like. You can ask Tan to pick a decent person.â
Lydia said so and yawned again. Lilyca said,
âYou must have been very tired from the meeting.â
âMeeting?â
âYes, you and His Majesty were staying together for a meeting.â
âOh, yes. It was a one-sided meeting⌠one-sided⌠fufu. Oh, but the meeting ended well.â
Lilyca felt heavy at the thought of how hard it must have been on her mother. Still, she was glad that she had called her like this.
Lilyca jumped up from her seat and hugged her mother tightly.
âOkay. Get a good nightâs sleep now. Iâll listen to the rest later.â
âYes, Mommy will sleep a little bit. Take the letter from Bharat to the maid.â
âYes.â
When Lilyca left the room, the maid handed the letter to Bryn.
It was a letter with colourful flower patterns on it.
âIt was said that the flower on those patterns was the ancestor of their family. So, is the ancestor of the Bharat family a flower?â
Could a flower be an ancestor?
âBut itâs plausible.â
Considering the appearance of Fjord, she really thought it could.
Maybe he had a flower fairy as an ancestor or something like that?
She arrived in front of the stairs while looking at the envelope of the letter. Lylica peeped around. She gave a dry cough.
âBryn.â
âYes, Princess.â
âIs there no one around?â
âNo one is watching.â
Lilyca looked at the railing secretly. Bryn asked politely.
âWould you like to ride down?â
âWill it be okay?â
âWhy wouldnât it?â
âOkay then.â
With Brynâs support, Lilyca raised her hips on the large, wide marble railing.
âWow-!â
At once, she gained speed and slid down the railing.
âUh? Huh?â
The stairs were longer than expected and the speed was also faster than planned. What if she couldnât land properly?
âAh!â
She was going to bounce off!
At the bend of the railing, Lilyca made a small noise and closed her eyes tightly.
She slowly opened her eyes; someone had picked her up. She lifted her chin and looked up to see His Majesty standing there.
âYou canât close your eyes at the end. You need to find out where youâre going to end up.â
âYour Majesty!â
Surprised, Lilycaâs eyes widened, and he hugged her gently. Alteos said to Bryn, who was standing next to her.
âWasnât it dangerous?â
âIf it werenât for His Majesty, I would have lifted her.â
Bryn bent slightly her head. Alteos turned to Lilyca.
âI didnât know that the princessâs job included cleaning the railings.â
Lilycaâs face turned red. Alteos stared intently.
âIâm sorryâŚâ
âDid you want to clean the railing?â
âNo, I slid down the railingâŚâ
âWhy are you sorry about that?â
Lilyca looked at him with a troubled expression. Alteos said, âOh.â and squinted his eyes.
âI am not asking you to confess your mistake. Iâm asking because I really donât know why youâre sorry about that.â
Speaking, he looked into Lilycaâs eyes for a moment.
âDid you see your mother?â
âYeah, she looked tired.â
âHmm.â
Lilyca looked at Alteosâ face involuntarily. Her mother looked tired, but His Majesty was somehow shiny.
âDid you like the outcome of the meeting?â
âWhat meeting?â
âYou said you had a meeting with MotherâŚâ
âAh.â
Alteos rolled his eyes and nodded.
âIt was very satisfying.â
âI see.â
âLily.â
âYes?â
âHave you ever asked your mother about that?â
âPardon?â
âThe meeting.â
âOh, yes.â
Alteos coughed a little.
âWhat did she say?â
âWellâŚâ
Lilyca wondered what to say.
âThe meeting ended well.â
âIs that all?â
âWhat? Uh, and.â
When Lilyca looked at him, Alteos said, âHonestly.â and smiled brightly.
âIt was a one-sided meetingâŚâ
âOne-sided. Hmm⌠is that so. HmmâŚâ
Alteos said.
âThen, I should try to make a meeting that can satisfy both sides in the future.â
Alteos dropped Lilyca down when he saw an envelope in her hand.
âBharat?â
âWhat? Ah yes. I want to invite Fjord Bharat as a guest.â
âFjord Bharat?â
âYes.â
When she answered, Alteos was deep in thought. He reached out his hand and Lilyca handed him the letter.
A letter envelope with Bharatâs crest painted clearly, and a silver dragon crest indicating who the recipient was.
âOften, very often, I wonder what the Empress is thinking.â
He muttered before returning the letter to Lilyca.
âGo on.â
Alteos turned the other way around and strode away.
Lilyca looked at the invitation and asked Bryn.
âDo you think His Majesty is angry?â
âNo, if he was angry, he would have killed either of us. Or maybe both.â
ââŚâ
Seeing Bryn smiling, Lilyca thought, âIt must be hard for aristocrats.â She put the letter in the pocket of Brynâs apron.